Once Again
by 7-17
Summary: The War came to an end. The Jūbi, Madara and Obito were dead, thousands died, all that stood in the way of peace was Taka. Naruto and Sasuke engaged in their last battle, and when Naruto was going to die, Kurama managed to transport them back in time, to her genin days. What will Naruto do with this second chance? FemNaruto. Currently a normal Timetravel Fic. May add romance later.
1. Chapter 1: Team 7

**Okay, so here's the first chapter to my story~ I hope it's okay. It's a bit short though. First time writing such a fanfic. After reading a few time travel fics, seeing pictures of the old team 7 on the Internet, and listening to some nostalgic songs, I suddenly had the inspiration to write one out. And while I was writing this, I read the latest chapter of Naruto. And i was like YES! haha okay, i shall stop my rambling here. Anyway, I wrote this for myself, so it's okay if you think its boring, plain or unoriginal. Suggestions and advice are welcome though.**

**(Edited version)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

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Chapter 1: Team 7

**"Do you ever wish you had a second chance to meet someone again for the first time?"**

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_Do you remember? How we used to fight? How we argued over anything and everything? How we nearly killed each other so many times? How, in the end, there was nothing but destruction, nothing but cruel words and harsh silences... How, in the end, there was no one left but you, because everyone else was gone. How, in the end, your lightning found its way into my heart, because I gave up fighting you... _

_I think I died by my own hand, instead of yours. Because the fire went out in silence, leaving behind nothing but wisps of smoke, seconds before you could extinguish__ it. _

_But I will fix it. I will fix everything. _

_Going back to the beginning. Where it all started. _

___Let's meet again. _

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... Someone's POV...

_This isn't the afterlife... I'm not dead...? How am I not dead?_

... Another POV...

_I'm alive again? And this doesn't seem like Edo Tensei..._

... Naruto's POV...

_It aches. Everything aches. Why does it hurt? Why does my heart feel like it has been ripped into shreds? Where does the sorrow come from? Why do I feel such grief? Why are there... Tears in my eyes?_

_Because we have lost almost everything. But it does not matter anymore. Wipe those tears._

_Who are you?_

_I'm you_, I told my younger self. Reassuring her. And she went quiet as I took over. I looked at her, watching me with wide eyes in a dark room, uncharacteristic of her. Then she grinned a big wide grin. Now that was more like her.

_Ganbatte,_ she said, as our memories merged and she saw what I planned to do. Then the room disappeared.

I opened my eyes.

I was back. I really was back.

Wait, where's the Kyuubi? _KURAMA?_

**I'm here. Now let me get some sleep. I'm still weak from bringing us here and I need to recover my chakra. **

So I let the grumpy fox rest. I glanced at the calendar. Hey, isn't today the day we get assigned to teams? I glanced at the clock. Oh crap, I was going to be late!

Five minutes later, I had donned on my bright orange jacket (oh my old jacket! How happy I was to wear it again), blue pants and sandals, hitai-ate proudly tied around my forehead, feeling like I had just received it... Which my younger self did, but I was actually feeling proud for making it back here. I was going to get a chance to change things, make things right, prevent so many people from dying.

I entered the classroom around the time I should (mostly because I ended up running to the Academy. I couldn't help it. My spirits soared so high, my happiness at seeing all the familiar streets and the village as how it was so long ago...) and nearly got a shock when I nearly bumped into a raven-haired boy.

_Sasuke. My best friend. How I've missed you. _

Even as I scowled at him and yelled at him for being in my way, I smiled on the inside. Here was my old friend and rival. I was definitely making sure that I do not lose him again this time round...

As I looked around for my seat (Sasuke merely snorted at my scolding), other genins were skeptically asking me about my presence, and I had to keep telling them I graduated, with the hitai-ate as proof.

I felt myself being pushed, and even with the reflexes of my future self, I couldn't prevent myself from colliding into the now seated Uchiha. Face-first. Our lips touched. Both our faces were the epitome of shock.

I quickly scrambled backwards and gagged while yelling, "Ugh! My mouth is rotting!"

Not that kissing him was that unpleasant. But I didn't want anyone getting the wrong idea. Besides, I was sure my past self would have been disgusted at kissing Sasuke, who I'm supposed to hate.

"Naruto, dobe! I'm going to kill you!" Sasuke declared while choking. I tried not to think about how this threat was probably empty of real killing intent, though he might really end up killing me in the future.

Iruka-sensei saved me from the attacks of raging fangirls who couldn't stand another girl kissing their precious Sasuke. I took my seat far from Sasuke, heaving a sigh of relief. Truth be told, I had totally forgotten that this had happened before. And now I was surprised I didn't remember it. And when I suddenly recalled the memory, I wished I had recalled it earlier.

We were assigned to our teams, and I sat in my chair, happily soaking it all in. How I missed those days, and now I was reliving it. I remembered in time to act my part when I was assigned to be on the same team as Sakura-chan, whom I thought was cute (but at that time, she didn't want to be my friend), and Sasuke, whom I was supposed to hate. I protested, and received a lecture of sorts from Iruka-sensei. Basically, everything was as it should be.

Except that I don't remember bumping into Sasuke twice the first time. Which meant that my presence here was going to change a lot of things without me even trying. Just arriving slightly earlier or later than I should could cause something different to happen. I was going to have to be careful. If I changed too much, I wouldn't be able to predict what happens next and I wouldn't be able to change future stuff as I liked.

Afterwards, we waited for Kakashi-sensei to arrive. I knew he was going to be late (if only he'd come early. I really couldn't wait to see my old sensei again) so I prepared my prank despite my teammates skepticism and protest. I made sure the prank was exactly the same as the one I did the first time, then wondered if I should make it more elaborate.

I decided against it in the end and settled to watch my teammates. I tried making conversation with Sakura as usual, but she huffed and ignored me. She must be extra angry for me kissing Sasuke earlier. What a pity.

In the end, I didn't talk to Sasuke either, not when the kissing incident was still fresh in my mind. Team bonding would have to wait. Kakashi fell for the trap (and I still wondered if he really fell for it or not). Sakura-chan kept insisting she tried to stop me while Sasuke looked like he couldn't quite believe that Kakashi was a jounin (now that I'm watching this again, it occurred to me how hilarious they were).

Kakashi announced that he didn't like us, and told us to meet him at the roof. Then he introduced himself (which basically told us nothing except his name, but thankfully, I was more informed than the others) and got us to introduce ourselves, starting with me.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto!" I yelled cheerfully. "I like cup ramen. What I like even more is the restaurant ramen that Iruka-sensei buys for me. I dislike waiting 3 minutes for my cup ramen to cook. My dream is to surpass the Hokage! Datebayo! Hobbies... Pranks I guess."

Did I say anything wrongly? I didn't think so. What I didn't add was how I wanted to save everyone from dying in the War, but I couldn't very well say that.

It was Sasuke's turn next. "My name is Uchiha Sasuke. There are tons of things I dislike, but I don't really like anything. And… I don't want to use the word 'dream' but… my ambition is the resurrection of my clan and… to kill a certain man."

_Ah. It was all about revenge again, wasn't it? Hopefully that would change later. It had better change. _

"I'm Haruno Sakura," began Sakura-chan. "The thing I like is… Um… Should I say my dream for the future…? Well, the person I like is… OH MY!" she blushed like crazy began screaming like the fangirl she was. It was obvious who she had been thinking about. She continued on, "The thing I dislike is… Naruto! My hobby is…*blush even more*"

I cringed at her proclamation. I couldn't quite remember what I did to her to make her dislike me. All I ever did was try and make friends... And accidentally kissed the Uchiha.

"Okaay. Enough of that. We'll be starting our duties tomorrow―" I interrupted Kakashi-sensei with a yell of "YAY! Duties! Duties! What kinds of duties!" I truly was overjoyed at having to do little missions again. Even the boring D-ranked ones. Can you believe it?

Kakashi-sensei was silent for a moment before replying, "First we are going to do something with just the four of us."

"What! What!" I asked eagerly, even though I already knew what.

"Survival training and I'll be your opponent. This isn't normal training though..."

We gave him questioning looks and Kakashi-sensei chose that moment to chuckle.

"This training is a super difficult exam with a failure rate of over 66%! Of the 30 graduates, only 12 will be chosen as Genin," Kakashi-sensei explained. It took me a moment to make myself look shocked.

"What the hell? But we worked so hard… Then what was the point of graduating?" I exclaimed. Well actually, I didn't really exclaim that. I just let my younger self take over for a moment.

"Oh… That? That's just to select those that have the chance to become Genin," replied Kakashi-sensei in his annoyingly calm voice. "Anyways, tomorrow you will be graded on the training field. Bring all your shinobi tools. Oh, and skip breakfast. You'll throw up."

Throw up. Huh. I fell for it last time. But not this time!

...

I ate my breakfast as usual, though I skipped the milk. (All my milk was spoilt. I couldn't understand how I managed it before) After changing into my proper clothes and attempting to neaten my chin-length spiky hair, I took my time to make my way to training field, knowing Kakashi-sensei would be late anyway.

Along the way, I tested out my ninja skills. My reflexes were as sharp as before, though my muscles weren't really accustomed to the speed I used. My aiming was way better than before. And I still retained my chakra suppressing skills. I didn't risk trying out my rasengan though.

I arrived slightly later than Sakura-chan. Sasuke arrived shortly after me. Kakashi-sensei was very late. As per normal. Everything went as it should be, until I avoided getting poked in the butt by A Thousand Years of Pain. Then I decided it was time for teamwork to happen.

I sought out Sakura-chan first. It was more normal for me that way. She didn't want to have anything to do with me, until I told her I'd help her look for Sasuke and force him to join us, on top of my reasoning for team work.

We found Sasuke later, with his head sticking out of the ground, an immensely annoyed expression on his face. I couldn't keep myself from laughing. Now what would the future Sasuke say if I took a whole lot of these moments and showed them to his future Orochimaru team. His reputation would be seriously ruined.

Sakura and I helped Sasuke out and I told him that I had wanted to team up with Sakura but she wanted to team up with him. So teaming up together would be the best idea. Sasuke agreed, but with a skeptical frown.

"I've managed to touch the bells, so I probably have a higher chance of getting them," he said.

"You could get the bells while Naruto distracts him!" exclaimed Sakura-chan. Good that she was thinking and taking the initiative. It would still take awhile for her to grow up into the Sakura I know though. And suddenly, I realized how much I missed her. _How much I missed them._

The novelty of being back in the past wore off as I realized that my teammates and the friends I was going to meet and interact with later, they weren't mine. They were younger, inexperienced, and that didn't matter, but they were different. I'd have to befriend everyone he used to know all over again. But my original friends, they were either dead or badly injured. They were completely gone now that I have gone back in time. And I could never get them back. Even if the Sakura now grows up to be just like the Sakura I know, or Hinata matured and lost her shyness, or Shikamaru becoming a greatly valued strategist... They wouldn't be the same. _No one could replace my old friends. _

It gripped me, and for a moment, I wondered if I had made the right choice. It would be my fault now if things stray too much from how it should be. And there was Sasuke. He wasn't the Sasuke I know. And I couldn't believe I actually missed him. My old Sasuke, even if he did leave the village for power and revenge. Even if he did try to kill me so many times. Even if he did almost succeed the last time. The only reason why he didn't was because the Kyuubi transported me back in time before I could die.

"Naruto! Why are you spacing out? Did you hear anything I said?" Sakura-chan demanded, waving her hand in front of my face. I blinked several times.

And hurriedly tried to appease her. "H-Hai! I was just amazed at your awesomeness!" I didn't want to be on the receiving end of her punch but... What did I say? What a lousy excuse.

"Of course! You're dead last in class after all! Anything would amaze you," Sakura said. Sasuke just did a suspicious grunt. Or snort. Or something in between.

... Third Person POV...

While Kakashi read his book, he wondered about the sudden lack of activity. And then, the brash and loud blonde genin appeared again, still wearing that horrible bright orange jacket. Did she know nothing about subtlety?

"Kakashi! Ready or not, here I come!" she yelled, and suddenly, not one Naruto came charging at him, but countless of them barraged into him.

Then when he was about to flicker away and use a replacement technique, a few of the shadow clones managed to get a tight hold on him. And as one, they transformed into what appeared to be an older, sexier, naked version of Naruto with her hair grown out and tied into two ponytails. And all of the blonde naked female clones started cooing and squealing and giggling as they attacked him, some blowing air kisses along the way.

Kakashi's nose bled really badly.

...

The plan was for Naruto to distract Kakashi with clones. What Sasuke didn't expect was the Sexy no Jutsu, let alone a Harem version. And he had Sakura to thank for preventing him from seeing too much of that, for she had crashed into him in her haste, before joining the fray, dispelling a lot of clones. Hidden behind some thick bushes near Kakashi, his chakra suppressed to a minimum, Sasuke sighed.

... Naruto's POV...

I suppose I should've expected Sakura to join in once I used that jutsu. She killed a good many of my clones with a well-placed punch in the face. When the raging Sakura came within earshot. I protested to her.

"Hey! What are you doing?!"

"WHAT WERE YOU DOING?" raged Sakura.

"You said distract him! You didn't specify how!" I defended myself. In the mean time, a nose-bleeding Kakashi-sensei watched us with... I can't tell what expression was that on his face. Not that we could see much of his face anyway. Now when was the teme going to make his entrance?

Oh right, Kakashi wasn't near enough to Sasuke yet... And he was escaping, I quickly covered Sakura's eyes and got a few clones to help me keep her still.

"Trust me, Sakura-chan. You won't want to see this," I told her, and got a few clones near Kakashi to transform again. This time, there was one Gai (female version) exclaiming about youth in front of Kakashi, one cross-dressing Sasuke, a few even sexier girls, and for the hell of it, one temperamental Kurama (personified female version, or rather, what I thought he'd look like if he was a human female... complete with fox ears and nine bushy tails), all blocking Kakashi's front and sides, making him leap backwards in a combination of shock, disgust and a slight bit of fear. With the enhanced hearing I got from Kurama, I heard the soft ringing of bells suddenly stop... As if someone's hand had enveloped them and muffled the sound.

Sakura and I turned around in time to see Kakashi leap away from Sasuke, the sound of bells, no, the sound of one bell, ringing. Sasuke had only managed to get one bell. Well, one bell was better than none. We didn't really need the bell to pass anyway, since the key was teamwork... Which we still needed to work on, though this was definitely an improvement compared to the first time I took this test.

"Well, it looks like someone finally managed to get the bell," Kakashi commented. "Seems like Sasuke passes this test."

"No." All of us stared at him, surprised at his response. Maybe we didn't work as well as a team as Kakashi wanted, maybe Kakashi would pass Sasuke alone, but even if Kakashi was lying, which he might be, I had fully expected the teme to grab this chance to properly graduate and become a genin. Not only did he have the pride of an Uchiha, he was also an avenger and he would need to become a genin first in order to chase after his brother.

"No," the Uchiha repeated, and stared straight at me. "The bell belongs to Naruto. The dobe was the one who brought us together to get the bell, and distracted you. Without her help, I wouldn't have been able to get the bell. She deserves it. To take the bell that belongs to her would be too shameful."

We blinked and stared. What?

I quickly recovered and protested loudly. "Eh? But it was Sakura-chan who came up with the plan. This wouldn't have worked without her. She should get the bell. I don't care if I have to repeat a year at the Academy before graduating again. It doesn't matter how long it takes, as long as I can be Hokage, I'm happy."

Sakura sputtered. She clearly didn't expect my answer either, but I knew my answer was the right one.

"Actually, the plan was simple. Anyone could have come up with it. I didn't even participate much in the actual action. Since Sasuke-kun was the one who managed to get the bell in the end, the bell belongs to him," Sakura said, blushing slightly at the end.

Kakashi stared at us for a looong time. Then he inclined his head. "Sasuke?"

Sasuke glared and thew the bell onto the ground. "We're supposed to work in a three-man cell team, aren't we?"

I nodded in agreement. "It won't be fun for the one who graduates without his or her teammates."

I was glad Sakura added, "Who are going to be the teammates of the one who graduates if the rest are going to be sent back to the Academy?"

This was all very unexpected. I was in truth, quite thrown by what was happening, and I was sure Kakashi was too. It does not matter, however. All the better if we can actually work as a team... In persuading Kakashi to pass all of us.

"Well," Kakashi said, looking very pleased and amused. "I guess, you all pass then."

"The key to this test is team work, and you guys have worked well together. I've failed every team who took this test before you, because they failed to show team work. Remember, those who fail their mission are trash. But those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash."

Then he did his eye-smile. I automatically leapt into the air, cheering. Then I glomped Kakashi. Who was very surprised.

"Awesome!" Then I proceeded to glomp Sasuke (who automatically stiffened. haha) before glomping Sakura too (who looked resigned). "Now! Let's go Ichiraku Ramen to celebrate!"

"Definitely not," said Sakura. And we ended up eating at some other restaurant instead. Which was fine too. I would readily give up eating ramen to eat with my team once again. So maybe what I told Kakashi yesterday was wrong. I loved my team way more than eating ramen. And I hated our team breaking up way more than waiting a year to eat ramen.

_And before I become Hokage, I was going to make sure Sasuke doesn't leave the team first. _

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**Ja ne~ That's all for now~ The next chapter will be up in about... A week's time? Please review~**


	2. Chapter 2: Training and Missions

**Here's the next chapter~ My thanks to those who have favourite or are now following my story. Extra thanks to those who reviewed. They've pointed out to me a mistake in my previous chapter, so I've edited it. Those who have read the previous chapter before I uploaded this one, you can go back and read it again~ It's just a minor mistake in the capabilities of the emo Uchiha. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

**Well, I hope you enjoy this chapter~**

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Chapter 2:

**"There is no conversation more boring than the one where everybody agrees."**

Early in the morning, I got up, had a small breakfast, and headed straight for the training field, knowing that my teammates would be punctual. Sure enough, Sakura was there, and teme came a while later. Kakashi was obviously, nowhere to be seen.

It has been one month since our life as genin started. Today was a rare day when we were supposed to have training session with Kakashi. Except that Kakashi wasn't around. I had racked my head last night, trying to remember if this had happened before. And recalled that there was one training day when Kakashi turned up so late that we hardly made any progress, which meant that the first proper training he was going to give us would be during our mission to Waves.

That was why I planned on getting us to train by ourselves instead of sitting around and wait for Kakashi to arrive.

When I reached the training field, since Sasuke hadn't arrived yet (which was fine by me, since I remember him being rather difficult when we first became a team... Actually, when was he not difficult?), I told Sakura my idea first.

"Ohayō~ Sakura-chan. I was just thinking, if the past month has been of any indicator, it's quite obvious that Kakashi-sensei's gonna be late again today, right? So why don't we start training first?" I suggested to Sakura. Who looked at me as if I had grown an extra head. I mentally sighed and waited for her logical brain to wake up.

I waited there and watched her incredulous expression (hey, was my dead-last reputation that bad? I can come up with god ideas sometime, you know!) turn thoughtful, then she started to frown. Then Sasuke came and whatever she had been thinking seemed to vanish as she brightened up and quickly stood up to greet him.

I sighed again. All this sighing was going to do me no good. And it was quite uncharacteristic of me too. My exasperation disappeared when amusement took over as I watched Sakura fawn over an irritated Uchiha.

"Hey, teme. Let's have a competition!" I said to Sasuke, who merely raised an eyebrow. I interpreted that as a prompt for me to explain further.

"Ninjas can walk up walls right? But we haven't been taught that yet. Do you have any idea how it works?" I asked both Sakura and Sasuke, hoping one of them knew the theory. It wouldn't do for me to suddenly appear so knowledgeable about such stuff, no matter how much I wanted to show off. Once again, sucks being dead last all the time...

"Chakra," was all Sasuke said. Sakura stared at Sasuke with admiration (I mentally sighed again) before elaborating on his _wonderfully long _and _eloquent_ answer, "I think they apply chakra to their feet while they walk up the wall to counter gravity."

"Oh good," I grinned. I didn't need to fake enthusiasm-we were finally getting somewhere. "Then do you think we could start learning this walking-up-wall thing today? Like, by ourselves? It'll be really cool."

Sakura gave me a look of exasperation, which I took as a good sign, before agreeing. Sasuke merely 'hn'-ed. Which Sakura and I interpreted as a 'yes'.

There was no wall to practice on, so we practiced on trees, which was the more traditional way of learning the technique... Or that's what I think, since we used to refer to it as the 'tree-climbing' exercise.

Each of us chose a different tree, and the competition started. Well, I was the one who started it, and it was actually more of a competition between the Uchiha and I. Loser treats lunch.

The moment I placed my foot onto the tree, sending chakra to my feet, I knew by the feel of it that I could easily walk up the tree. My chakra control was as good as it was in the future-that-has-passed. At that moment, I also knew that I had to lose on purpose to the Uchiha. And he better not find out. Ever.

I applied too little chakra, too much chakra, unbalanced amount of chakra... I slipped, I tripped, I fell, and I even got my foot stuck in the tree once. Not that it mattered much, since Sakura was having a pretty hard time with the activity too, and Sasuke was slightly worse than her. Well, Sakura's chakra control would have been the best in our team if I hadn't come from the future.

Two hours later, I lay on a tree branch, halfway up the tree, exhausted from trying _not_ to walk up the tree successfully. Sakura and Sasuke were also resting on a tree branch on their respective trees. Kakashi had yet to arrive. And if I'm not wrong, he shouldn't arrive until an hour past lunch. Which meant that we still had an hour to train without Kakashi, before heading off for lunch.

"Hey, do you guys wanna continue trying to walk up the tree or do something else?" I asked my teammates.

"Do something else. Let's take a break. We can try again another time, maybe when there's Kakashi-sensei to supervise," Sakura replied. Alright then. Our competition will be put temporarily on hold.

"Eh, then what should we do?"

"Let's spar." That was Sasuke. We glanced at him, and found him staring at me.

"I'm talking to you, dobe." Right. Then what about Sakura?

"I know! Sakura-chan and Sasuke-teme can spar first. Then I can spar with teme, before sparring with Sakura-chan," I suggested. "Each sparring bout should last twenty minutes. The one who isn't fighting should help keep time. How about that?"

Sakura didn't seem to mind. Sasuke just shrugged. So I sat on the tree branch and watched as they descended down to the ground and faced-off.

"Taijutsu only. Weapons are allowed, but no ninjutsu," Sasuke said before the fight started. Which would actually make the fight more fair since Sakura had yet to learn any specialized ninjutsu, unlike Sasuke who was already adept at using the Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu.

Sakura looked very nervous as the fight started. Understandably, especially since she had a crush on the Uchiha. That and her self-confidence still needed boosting..

"Sakura-chan! Ganbatte! Go beat Sasuke-teme's ass and if you can't, give him as much trouble as you can anyway!" I called out to her. She turned and frowned at me. Good. Get a little more fired up.

Then I caught Sasuke glaring at me and I grinned widely at him. "Don't worry, teme! Of course I'm rooting for you too!"

He glared at me harder then chose to ignore me after that. The fight started, and I must say... It was very boring. Since they were allowed to only stick to taijutsu, it was just a lot of kicking and punching. But still... Where was all the shuriken-throwing, the use of kunai and explosive tags?

And Sasuke was winning. I wondered if that had anything to do with the fact that Sakura was holding back too much because she didn't want to hurt him. Believe me when I say she could pack quite a punch even before we became genin. Well, at least she was getting some good practice in defense, since Sasuke was the one in offense most of the time.

Thankfully, he wasn't taking the fight too easily, as I had expected him to, since he had originally wanted to fight me instead of her. In fact, he seemed to be pushing Sakura to defend more in fact, and forcing her to counter on a few occasions... And now I had an Uchiha puzzle. Why did he even want to spar with me in the first place? I was dead last for goodness sake. Unless he had such a low opinion of Sakura that practicing with me would be better than practicing with her... Oh dear.

"Time's up!" I yelled as I jumped off the tree branch and landed beside a panting Sakura. Well since we didn't actually have a clock with us or stopwatch, I used my stomach as reference to how much time had passed. I said as much to Sakura who had enough energy to hit pretty hard me on the head.

"Wait. Let me go and get a proper timer," Sakura said and left, leaving Sasuke and I standing there in awkward silence.

The Uchiha then sat down beneath a tree and closed his eyes to take a short rest. He seemed to be even more out of breath than Sakura.

"Teme, where's your water bottle?" I asked him, crouching close to him such that when he opened his eyes and saw me frowning face so close to his, he jerked backwards in shock and hit his head against the tree trunk. Whoops. I swear that wasn't done on purpose.

"You're too close," he scowled at me, before looking up. I looked up as well to see his water bottle slung way up on the tree branch he had been sitting on earlier.

I felt my face twitch involuntarily. "And I thought I was the idiot."

Which got me a scorching glare from the Uchiha. I could feel it even though I wasn't looking at him. But honestly, leaving his water bottle up there was just so damn idiotic. Now should I be nice and get it down for him, or just... I shall be nice. But how should I be nice without seeming too nice?

"What are you thinking, dobe?"

I stared at him. "Woah. Why are you suddenly so talkative? I'm thinking about how to get your bottle down without climbing up."

"Don't bother," he replied, scowling again, before closing his eyes and went back to ignoring me. Hmph.

I went back to my tree, made sure he still had his eyes closed, walked right up it until I was halfway up, walked out onto a branch, jumped to the next tree, got the bottle, headed back to my tree and jumped down. All in less than two minutes.

"Teme," I said. He opened his eyes again, looking quite annoyed, and I shoved his water bottle into his face.

"Drink it. I don't want you getting dehydrated and fainting on us," I told him. He glared.

"I won't get dehydrated that easily, dobe. And how did you get the bottle?" he said and frowned at me suspiciously.

"Just drink the damn thing or I'll force you to-"

"Naruto, what are you forcing Sasuke-kun to do?" I turned to see Sakura returning with a stopwatch. I grinned sheepishly.

"Ah! Sakura-chan! You're back! That was fast."

"You didn't answer my question."

"Well now that you're back, let's start the fight, eh? Saku-_Itai! _Itaiitaiitaiitai! Itai! Stop it, it hurts!"

I ended up with my arm twisted into an arm-lock by an angry Sakura. Which beats getting punched by her-which would have happened if I actually told her I was trying to force water down Sasuke's throat. Of course I could phrase it nicer and say I'm getting Sasuke to drink water, but that would sound too suspicious. Too _nice_.

"Stop wasting time. Sakura, let go of the dobe. Let's start," Sasuke suddenly spoke up. We glanced at him and saw him getting up, leaving his water bottle leaning against the foot of the tree. Sakura automatically let go of me and went to one side. I rubbed my arm while Sasuke got into a fighting stance.

"Did you-?" I got cut off.

"Yes I did," Sasuke said, rolling his eyes. Hmph.

"Okay th-"

"Loser pays lunch," Sasuke announced, cutting me off again. I had a feeling 'loser paying for food' would become a habit of sorts.

We started out with just kicks and punches. Then that got boring. So I took out a kunai and tried to cut him with it. He automatically had his kunai out and blocked my attack. We continued attacking with kicks, punches and kunai until I realized I was going to run out of kunai. Two of my kunai were already stuck in some trees, and one kunai was lying on the ground some distance away. So I took out my shuriken and and Sasuke followed.

That was when I realized two things: I was like Sakura in a way-when I attacked him with blades, I subconsciously slowed down my own speed. The second thing I realized was that Sasuke wouldn't use a weapon until I started using them.

As an experiment, I resorted to throwing a kunai with an explosive tag at him. He dodged it and it exploded upon hitting a tree. Then he turned to me and threw a few shuriken at me, one of which had an explosive tag attached. I dropped to the ground, letting them fly over my head safely. Hypothesis proven. Did that mean he was underestimating me?

I promptly increased the speed of my kicks and punches. I had no real desire to draw blood, but that didn't mean I couldn't give him as many bruises as possible. Now the question was, win or lose this fight? On one hand, I didn't want to stomp on his pride too much. On the other hand, he was too cocky. On another hand, the fight wasn't really fair. On the other hand, I was going to be broke. And I didn't have that many hands.

"Time's up!" Sakura announced. I kept the kunai I had just taken out.

"Eh, so who won?" I asked no one in particular as I picked up the weapons I had dropped/thrown.

"Fight Sakura first and we'll see," Sasuke said.

And my fight with Sakura consisted only of punches and kicks. Mainly because I didn't want to use any sharp edge on her either. But it soon became clear that she was weaker than Sasuke, even though it was me that she was fighting. I thought her taijutsu was supposed to be alright... I must be too used to the older Sakura's lethal punches.

Thanks to the enormous amount of stamina I had, even with my body being younger and less used to fighting, I didn't feel very tired when Sasuke announced that the fight was over. Sakura, however, collapsed backwards onto the ground with a big sigh.

"Sakura-chan?" I questioned. "You okay?"

Sakura raised an arm and waved tiredly. "I'm alright."

"So... Lunch?" I asked.

"Let's count it as a draw," Sasuke said. Then frowned. "But we're not eating ramen."

"_Whyyy?_ Why does no one here see how awesome ramen is?" I whined. And continued whining until we reached some restaurant and sat down. Luckily, Sakura was too tired to hit me on the head for whining so much. Sasuke merely ignored me the whole time.

"Ramen is heavenly! It's the most delicious food on earth! We-"

"No, it's not. Tomatoes are the best," Sasuke finally retorted, much to my surprise.

I stared at him hard, and couldn't help but let a really wide grin stretch across my face. "_Really?_"

Sasuke looked a little uncomfortable at my grin."Really."

My grin stretched wider. "Prove it."

"_What?!_"

"I said, _prove it_. Prove that tomatoes are better than ramen," I repeated, my grin threatening to change into a smirk.

"How the hell-?! _Dobe_!" Sasuke started, sputtered, then decided that he shouldn't have argued with me in the first place and slammed my head down onto the table. My face greeted the table top.

Sakura sat up then. "What's going on?"

Ah... Too bad she missed what happened earlier. That had been fun... Kind of. My nose hurt though.

"Ah... Sasuke-teme was just-"

"Shut up," Sasuke interrupted and slammed my head back down onto the table.

"Teme! My nose is going to become flat at this rate!" I protested.

"You deserve it," was Sasuke's short indifferent reply.

Kakashi-sensei found us walking back to the training field later, with me sporting a really red nose, Sakura looking extremely curious and confused, Sasuke looking irritated and pleased at the same time. Almost as if he had enjoyed slamming my head into the table every time I tried to speak, regardless if what I was going to say had anything to do with him or not. And I won't be surprised if he actually did enjoy it.

...

Missions. Missions. Missions. All D-rank missions. Which, as I have mentioned before, was fine by me. But. BUT. Why_ Tora?_ I swear that monster cat needs to go.

"Pinkie reporting in. Target spotted in the third tree from the left. Repeat. Target spotted in third tree from left."

"Sunshine reporting in. Moving in on the target. Emo-kid, get ready." Damn irritating cat.

"Emo-kid reporting in. The Dog seems to be missing in action." Okay, so Sasuke actually manages to sound even more annoyed than me... Unsurprisingly... We didn't give him that codename for nothing. Sometimes I wondered if I was the only one enjoying any of the missions. It's so sad that its only when it's gone do we appreciate such times spent together.

But then... If Sasuke had gone back in time too, would he enjoy it as much as I do? Does he even care about Team 7? As much as I hoped he does, I don't think so. And sometimes I wonder, did he ever?

_Was our friendship ever of any value to him? _

I shook my head of such depressing thoughts and focused on the situation at hand. Then... Wait. _What?_ Kakashi has disappeared? Oh great. Just great. I don't remember this happening the first time.

"Never mind the Dog, teme. We'll complete this bloody mission without him," I told Sasuke through the walkie-talkie.

Kakashi reappeared later, after Sakura successfully lured Tora to us, for Sasuke and I to ambush it. We caught the cat in a small body bag (not really, but we liked to think of it as a body bag) and headed to the Hokage building when Kakashi conveniently joined us.

"Kakashi-sensei! Where were you?!" I yelled.

"Ma~, it seemed like you three could manage without me so I thought I'd let you try and complete a simple mission without me."

"What a lousy excuse. I bet you were just feeling lazy and decided to read that perverted book of yours somewhere far from the cat," Sakura retorted. She was getting quite bold. I wonder why. She was starting to sound less and less like the Sasuke fangirl and more and more like the Sakura I know... Though she was still a Sasuke fangirl. Just a bolder and more confident one, that's all.

...

We returned Tora, and once again, I pitied it. No wonder it became such a monster if its owner is like that. And I turned away from the woman hugging the life out of her cat.

While smoking out of his pipe as usual, the old man Hokage read off a piece of paper. "Kakashi's Team Seven. Your next mission will be babysitting an elder's grandson, shopping in the neighboring village, and help with the potato digging."

Oh kami. Babysitting. _Shopping_. So not my thing. I groaned audibly. Oh no. No. _No_.

"No! No! No! No, thank you!" I exclaimed. "Must we really do those stuff?!"

I pouted when the Hokage gave me That Look. Yes, we really had to those stuff. I was about to give in when I heard Sasuke sigh. _Hmm?_ So he was tired of these missions too. Well of course he was. And when did we get our first C-rank (actually, B-rank) mission anyway? Wait. Wait. _Wait_. Shouldn't that be... TODAY?

"But I want to do a more incredible mission!" I blurted out in my haste. "Give us a better mission!"

Oh, if we didn't get this mission we were screwed.

"Baka! You're just a rookie!" I blinked as Iruka shouted from beside the Hokage. Did he do this the last time? Hmm... Yeah, he probably did.

"Everyone starts off with simple duties and works their way up!" Iruka continued.

"But we keep getting the crappiest possible duties!" And by now, it wasn't really about getting so many lousy missions. It was about getting to escort that old bridge builder to Wave. The stakes were high here. So many important things happened during that mission. We must not miss it at all cost!

"Be quiet!" Kakashi scolded and whacked my head with his hand. Ow.

"Naruto! It seems like I have to explain to you, what these duties are all about," the Hokage began. Wait. _Nooooo_ don't go into that long speech about how missions work and mission-ranking and shinobi-ranking! I've heard it all before!

I sat myself on the floor, put on my grumpiest expression, and waited for him to finish his speech. I stared out of the window behind him for some time. Man, the clouds look nice today... Shikamaru must be enjoying himself. Eh? Is that a cloud in the shape of a bowl of ramen?

And when I heard "D-rank missions are perfect for you." And thought, FINALLY! It is finished. And imagined a party inside my head.

"Hey! LISTEN!" I blinked, and heard Kakashi apologizing sheepishly. Huh? Oh. Right.

I pretended to be really bored (which I kinda was) and said, "Sheesh... All you do is give lectures like that... But you know what?"

I frowned at him and shouted the last part, "I'm not the troublemaking brat you still think I am!"

And I wasn't (though I might enjoy a good prank or two on some occasions) and haven't been since... Eh. When? The uh... Oh kami. Time traveling screws time up so much.

"Ok. If you want it that much, I'll give you a C-rank mission. It's a protection mission of a certain individual..." the Hokage finally said. I held my breath.

"Come in here," the Hokage said to someone out of our sight. A door opened and an old guy walked in. But not just any old guy. He was that bridge builder! Great! Fabulous! Things are going to plan!

"What's this? They are all a bunch of super brats... Especially the shortest one with the super stupid-looking face. Are you really a ninja?" that was the first thing the old bridge builder said. Man, I forgot how annoying he was. And unlike the first time, I knew straightaway who he was referring to. _Me_.

"Who the hell are you?" I demanded for the sake of it. Might as well, since I forgot his name... Ehehehe...

"I am the super expert bridge builder, Tazuna. I expect you to provide super protection until I get back to my country and complete the bridge," Tazuna declared. Eh. Why does he like the word 'super' so much?

* * *

**Okay, so that was a little shot too, but oh well, I'll update again, maybe two to three weeks from now cuz my exams are coming up. Say, are the characters too OOC? I'm worried about how I portrayed Sasuke. **

**Review please~!**


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